Connect to Your Server via SSH

SSH (Secure Shell) is the standard protocol for securely connecting to remote Linux servers. This guide covers connecting from macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Prerequisites

• A running LightYear server with a public IP address
• An SSH key pair added to the server during deployment (or root password if no key was added)

Connect from macOS or Linux

Open your terminal and run:

$ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

If you use a non-default key file location, specify it with the -i flag:

$ssh -i ~/.ssh/my_custom_key root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

On first connection you will see a host key fingerprint prompt:

The authenticity of host '45.77.x.x (45.77.x.x)' can't be established.
ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:abc123xyz...
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])?

Type yes and press Enter. The fingerprint is saved to ~/.ssh/known_hosts for future connections.

Connect from Windows

Option A — Windows Terminal / PowerShell (Recommended)

Windows 10 1809+ and Windows 11 include a built-in OpenSSH client. Open Windows Terminal or PowerShell and run:

$ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Option B — PuTTY

1. Download PuTTY and open it.
2. Enter your server IP in the Host Name field.
3. Set Port to 22 and Connection type to SSH.
4. Under Connection → SSH → Auth → Credentials, browse to your .ppk private key file.
5. Click Open.

[!TIP] To convert an OpenSSH key (id_ed25519) to PuTTY format (.ppk), use PuTTYgen: File → Load Private Key → Save Private Key.

Create an SSH Config File for Convenience

Instead of typing the full command every time, add an entry to ~/.ssh/config:

Host myserver
    HostName 45.77.x.x
    User root
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
    ServerAliveInterval 60

Now you can connect with just:

$ssh myserver

Troubleshooting Connection Issues

[!WARNING] If you see Host key verification failed, do not bypass it blindly. Verify the server IP is correct before removing the old host key entry.